JPH0881022A - Packing type monitoring system for automated warehouse - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To enable the positive and easy increase-loading work of articles into an automated warehouse. CONSTITUTION: The packing type of plural loads W stocked in an automated warehouse is photographed by a digital still camera and stored as image data in correspondence with stock control data such as article numbers and article names. At the time of increase-loading, an article number 14 and a lot 16 are inputted by operation. Then the packing type of the corresponding loads W is displayed on the window 12 of the screen. Referring to this, a worker can know by intuition whether articles B can be increase-loaded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic warehouse for storing a plurality of loads palletized with a plurality of articles, and more particularly to a package shape monitoring system for monitoring the shapes of the loads stored in the automatic warehouse. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a distribution center or the like, a system for palletizing received goods and temporarily storing them is used. This system includes an automated warehouse that uses a crane to load and unload multiple shelves. In the automatic warehouse, a plurality of articles of the same type are palletized, or a plurality of loads in which two or more types of articles are mixed are stored, and a load of articles of a specific type is delivered according to a request. The types of cargo stored in the automated warehouse are:
There are a full pallet in which a palletizable number of articles are loaded on the pallet and a fractional pallet which is less than the full pallet. In addition, when the articles are stored in the automatic warehouse, there are cases where the number is sufficient to form a full pallet and cases where the number is not. When there is a fractional pallet that can be loaded into the automated warehouse when the fractional goods are stored, it is possible to increase the storage efficiency of the automated warehouse if the fractional pallets are loaded in the fractional pallet. it can. Conventionally, as a method of searching for a fractional pallet that can be accumulated and stored, the fractional pallet is temporarily released and it is determined whether or not the fractional pallet can be accumulated, and the operation is repeated until a fractional pallet that can be accommodated is found.

[0003]

However, according to the conventional method, when it is not possible to pile up the fractional pallets that have been temporarily delivered, this fractional pallet is re-stored and another fractional pallet is temporarily provisioned. It had to be repeated and was very tedious. As a method of searching for a fractional pallet that can be accumulated and stored without temporarily ejecting fractional pallets, a means for managing the number of articles loaded on the fractional pallet is provided, and this management means is used to increase the number on the numbers. Although it is conceivable to search for a fractional pallet that can be used, even if it is judged that the number can be increased, it is often impossible to increase the number depending on how the articles are loaded, and it is impossible to make an accurate judgment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a package appearance monitoring system which can easily carry out the work of loading the fractional pallets already stored in the automatic warehouse.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is an automatic warehouse for storing a plurality of loads palletized with a plurality of articles. A package form storage means for storing each package and a package form display means for reading out and displaying the package form corresponding to the package by selecting one of the packages. In preparation, we have constructed a package monitoring system for automated warehouses.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the package shape storage means stores image data obtained by an image capturing means for capturing an image of the package shape of a load placed at the receiving station, and the package shape display means. Configures the package appearance monitoring system for an automated warehouse according to claim 1, wherein the image data corresponding to the selected load is read and displayed on the display.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when a plurality of loads obtained by palletizing articles of the same type are stored,
2. The automatic packing machine according to claim 1, wherein the packing style display unit sequentially displays a plurality of packing styles corresponding to a plurality of cargos palletized by selecting one of the kinds. Configured the package appearance monitoring system for the warehouse.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the image data obtained by the image pickup means for picking up an image of the load placed on the lifting platform of the crane when the load collapses is also stored, and the load form display means. Configured the package appearance monitoring system for an automated warehouse according to claim 1, so that the image data is read and displayed on a display.

[0009]

Since the present invention has the above-mentioned structure, it has the following effects.

In the automatic warehouse cargo form monitoring system according to the first aspect of the present invention, the package forms of the respective loads are stored in the package form storage means at the time of warehousing in correspondence with the respective loads.
With respect to the package forms stored in the package form storage means, by selecting one of the packages, the corresponding package form is read out and displayed.

In the package view monitoring system for an automated warehouse according to the second aspect of the present invention, the package view is stored as image data. The appearance of the load placed at the receiving station is
The image data obtained by the image pickup means and stored is stored in the package storage means. The package display means reads out the image data corresponding to the selected package and displays it on the display.

In the package monitoring system for an automated warehouse according to the third aspect of the invention, the package whose package display is displayed on the package display means is selected by selecting one of the types. By selecting a product type, a plurality of packing patterns of a plurality of loads obtained by palletizing the articles of the product type are sequentially displayed.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, in the package monitoring system for an automatic warehouse, the package image is picked up by the image pickup means for the load on the lifting platform of the crane, and the package storage means is provided at the time of storage. Not only store image data at any time,
The package display means can read the image data and display it on the display.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments shown in the drawings will be described below.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are views showing screen displays in an embodiment of an automatic warehouse package appearance monitoring system according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows a device configuration of the same embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control structure of the same embodiment.

In FIG. 3, the automated warehouse 1 includes a plurality of shelves 2a.
The load W is transferred between the rack 2 having the racks and the rack 2a, and the load W is transferred between each of the racks 2a and the receiving station 3 and the exit station 4 arranged near the end of the rack 2. It consists of a crane 5.

The load W stored in the shelf 2a is shown in FIGS.
As shown in that image, a plurality of articles B are palletized on a pallet P. The products shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are loaded with the same type of products B, but there are also products in which different types of products are mixed.

The load W is loaded from the loading station 3 by the crane 5 and stored in the shelf 2a. Of these loads W, a fractional load W is delivered to the delivery station 4 as needed, and after being piled up, it is loaded again from the storage station 3. The crane 5 operates when the operator M operates the personal computer 6.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the personal computer 6 includes a main body 7, a keyboard 8 and a touch panel 9a.
CRT display 9 with mouse, mouse 10, digital still camera 11, crane controller 5a
Is connected.

The digital still camera 11 is capable of picking up an image of the load W placed on the storage station 3 from diagonally above. The image data obtained by the digital still camera 11 is transferred to the personal computer 6 and stored in the image data storage unit 7b in the main body 7.

1 and 2 show an example of the screen of the CRT display 9, and the window 12 displays the image data taken by the digital still camera 11.
A title 13 of "additional setting" is displayed above the window 12, and a product number 14 is displayed on the left side of the window 12.
The product name 15, lot 16, quantity 17, and shelf number 18 are displayed. Below the window 12, a packing form confirmation button 19, a shipping setting button 20, and a stacking setting button 21.
Are displayed respectively. Each button is pressed by a touch key, but can be clicked by the mouse 10.

The screens shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are created by the display controller 7a in the main body 7. Further, the command creating unit 7c creates a transfer command based on the input at the time of setting the additional load, and transmits the transfer command to the crane control device 5a. The crane control device 5a receives the transportation instruction and operates the crane 5 to carry out the work of loading and unloading the load W from the specific shelf 2a.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the process of the additional setting in this embodiment.

Prior to the additional loading setting, in the present embodiment, the packages of all the packages W stored in the shelf 2a are imaged by the digital still camera 11 on the storage station 3. The obtained image data is stored in the image data storage unit 7b after being associated with inventory management data of the load W such as the product number, product name, lot, quantity, and shelf number. Each image data is updated every time the product is stored or re-stored, and the current packing style is always stored.

In the present embodiment, in order to make the additional charge setting, first, when the operator M inputs the additional charge setting from the menu (step 1), the additional charge setting is displayed (step 2). At this stage, the screen as shown in FIG. 1 is displayed, but the packing appearance of the cargo W, the product number, etc. are not displayed.

Next, the operator M uses the product number 14 and the lot 16
Is input using the keyboard 8 (step 3), and the packing form confirmation button 19 is turned on on the touch panel 9a (step 4). The display control unit 7a includes image data of the palletized fractional load W of the article B specified by the product number and lot,
The image data storage unit 7b stores the product name, shelf number, and quantity data.
Read from and display on the screen.

The operator M looks at the screen and judges whether or not to carry out additional storage (step 6). For example, in the case of the package as shown in FIG. 1, the loading setting button 20 is turned on because the stacking is possible (step 8). If the packaging is such that it cannot be stacked any more, the next shelf is searched (step 7). When searching for the next shelf, other fractional loads W of the articles B of the same product number and lot are displayed.

When the exit setting button 20 is turned on in step 8, the command creating section 7c creates a command and sends it to the crane control device 5a, and the crane 5 corresponds to the shelf 2a.
The load W is delivered to the delivery station 4 from (the bin number 2-15-9 in this case) (step 9).

For the load W that has been unloaded, the worker M
Is added (step 10). In this example, 5 pieces are added. The added load W is placed on the receiving station 3. The operator inputs the accumulated quantity 17 from the keyboard 8 (step 11), and further turns on the accumulated setting button on the touch panel 9a (step 12). The stock quantity of the added load W is updated to 7 pieces + 5 pieces and 12 pieces.

When the additional setting button is turned on, the digital still camera 11 captures an image (step 13),
New image data is stored in the image data storage unit 7b,
As shown in the screen of FIG. 2, the command creating unit 7c creates and sends a command, and the crane 5 stores the load W in the original shelf 2a again (step 14).

As described above, according to the package appearance monitoring system for the automatic warehouse according to the present embodiment, it is possible to know the package appearance of the package W stored in the shelf 2a without leaving the warehouse one by one. Therefore, it is possible to stack articles more efficiently.

Further, since the package form is represented by displaying the image data obtained by capturing the package form, it is possible to visually and intuitively know whether or not it is possible to pile up, and the work burden on the operator is lightened and the package is easy. In addition, it is possible to reliably carry out additional work.

Further, since the load W is selected by inputting the product number and the lot, and the corresponding fractional loads W are sequentially displayed, it is possible to select the optimum load W for additional loading. It is possible to improve the operation efficiency of the automated warehouse and the storage efficiency of shelves by minimizing the number of times the crane operates for additional work.

In the above embodiment, the digital still camera 11 which is the image pickup means captures the image of the load 2W of the storage station 3. However, the digital still camera 11 is attached to the lift of the crane 5 and is mounted on the lift. The image data of the load W at the time of load collapse may be read from the image data storage unit 7b and displayed on the CRT display 9 when the crane 5 stops due to the load collapse. By doing so, not only the same effect as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained, but also the load collapse check can be performed on the CRT display 9 without the operator having to go near the lift table. This has an effect that the recovery work can be easily performed.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above.
It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments and can be appropriately modified within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the package form is directly imaged and directly converted into image data, but it is also possible to store the image data after it is compressed by appropriate processing. Alternatively, the package may be displayed by selecting a corresponding package from a plurality of packages prepared in advance.

[0037]

As described above, according to the package shape monitoring system for an automatic warehouse according to the invention described in claim 1, by displaying the package shape at the time of additional loading, it is possible to display the package shape without unloading each load. You can check. Therefore, the work can be piled up efficiently without any error.

According to the package shape monitoring system of the automatic warehouse of the invention described in claim 2, since the package shape is represented by the display of the image data, the package shape can be grasped directly and sensibly. Therefore, the operator can easily and surely perform the additional work without feeling a burden.

According to the automatic warehouse package appearance monitoring system of the third aspect of the present invention, since the package is selected by selecting the type and a plurality of package types are sequentially displayed, the optimum package is selected. As you can select and stack them, you can reduce the load on the crane, improve the operating efficiency, and increase the storage efficiency of the shelves.

According to the package appearance monitoring system of the automatic warehouse of the invention described in claim 4, when the crane is stopped due to a collapse of the load, the worker can display the package appearance on the lifting platform so that the worker can The load collapse check can be performed without going to the vicinity of the lifting platform, and the recovery work at the time of the load collapse can be easily performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a screen in an embodiment of an automatic warehouse package appearance monitoring system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another example of a screen of the same embodiment as in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a device configuration of the same embodiment as in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control structure of the same embodiment as in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process of additional setting in the same embodiment as in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols] 12 window 14 product number 15 product name 16 lot 17 quantity 18 shelf number 19 packing confirmation button 20 shipping setting button 21 accumulation setting button W loading B article P pallet

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An automatic warehouse for storing a plurality of loads palletized with a plurality of articles, and a package storage means for storing a package of each package corresponding to each package at the time of storage. A package form monitoring system for an automatic warehouse, comprising: a package form display unit that reads out and displays a package form corresponding to the package from the package form storage unit by selecting the package. 2. The packing style storage means stores image data obtained by an imaging means for picking up a packing style of a cargo placed on a receiving station, and the packing style display means stores the selected cargo. The package management system according to claim 1, wherein the corresponding image data is read and displayed on a display. 3. When a plurality of loads obtained by palletizing articles of the same type are stored, the packing pattern display means palletizes the articles of the type by selecting one of the types. The package monitoring system for an automated warehouse according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of packages corresponding to a plurality of packages are sequentially displayed. 4. The package form storage means also stores image data obtained by an image capturing means for capturing an image of a package placed on a lifting platform of a crane when the package collapses, and the package form display means. 2. The automatic warehouse package appearance monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the image data is read and displayed on a display.